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Measurement range?In KM/H, to zero decimal places. I've hung it out of a car window at 100km/h and it's not complained.

Accuracy (compared to local weather station data)It, like almost every other handheld anemometer, is for indication only. I'd regard it as qualitative and not quantitative.

Type of meter (vane, cup, hotwire)Vertical axis two armed vane.

It's similar in form to this:-

but has a smaller display of just one parameter and a small solar panel that happily powers it in most conditions I'm likely to fly in. It has a blue foam body with a conversion chart printed on the back.

Either Drachen or Sport und Design Drachen magazine did a big test of windmeters Back In The Day™ and, IIRC, came to the conclusion that even the cheap ones are pretty accurate under lab. conditions... which makes it even more of a shame that we don't fly in a lab. In the real world they tend to not respond to fluctuations so well.

i boguth a radio shack wind gauge cat#63-1119, it was cheap and i believe it is discontinued. Its not very accurate below 10 and is more a toy then anything.

I am a fan of the zephyr meter that prism sold awhile ago; a little "seed" in a tube, worked well enough for an occasional look. Now i tend to look at flags and trees around and can gauge well enough from there.

I have a Kestrel 3000 it has the ability to measure humidity and dew point as well. Wind Chill factor, Temperature Humidity Index and of course ambient temperature. Mine recommends that you use one impellar for standard winds and anything higher than say 50 MPH, use a different impellar for high winds only, then switch back after the extreme. It has been a great meter, I have had it for about 6 years. I purchased this (received it as a Christmas gift, actually...) particular one because of the ability to read dew point for use while stargazing with my telescopes.

Sadly this thread is getting farther and farther away from my original intent. Thanks to those that did post the info I was looking for but this simple request for specs and data based on use of the WIND METERS that you guys have experience with seems not to be getting much info. Meter's must not be as popular outside of the powerkite crowd. OUt of the ones posted the windtronic 2 has the best overall stats skywatch a close 2nd.

I have the Skymate SM-18. It was a gift but I picked the one I wanted. I did some research and this one seemed to be pretty good at low wind measurements. The manufacturer claims it's most accurate in low wind. It reads from .4-89 mph.

Like others have posted, I rarely ever use it, I can either fly a kite or not. It's kind of nice to verify what I think the wind speed is from time to time but mostly I forget I have it. When I put it up next to other meters they all seem to read about the same though.

The ones you got for free appear to be of poor quality. I've never seen one off that much.

I have the Skymate SM-18. It was a gift but I picked the one I wanted. I did some research and this one seemed to be pretty good at low wind measurements. The manufacturer claims it's most accurate in low wind. It reads from .4-89 mph.

Like others have posted, I rarely ever use it, I can either fly a kite or not. It's kind of nice to verify what I think the wind speed is from time to time but mostly I forget I have it. When I put it up next to other meters they all seem to read about the same though.

The ones you got for free appear to be of poor quality. I've never seen one off that much.

Same one we're using or not...............for the most part it works pretty well up until the late teens - early twenties......after that you have to be named Lam in order to trick. Vented or not

We use ours more for temp and wind chill factor.......like James, one can either fly or not and the back of the neck seems to be just about as good as anything.

Sadly this thread is getting farther and farther away from my original intent. Thanks to those that did post the info I was looking for but this simple request for specs and data based on use of the WIND METERS that you guys have experience with seems not to be getting much info. Meter's must not be as popular outside of the powerkite crowd. OUt of the ones posted the windtronic 2 has the best overall stats skywatch a close 2nd.

I was excited when I got the wind meter as a present... never something I would buy for myself, but seemed like something cool to play with. The novelty wears off quickly, and I don't think I've used mine in over 3 months. I do kind of wish I had it yesterday, just to have a verification of the winds that I was flying in... I think they were about 2-3mph, but it would be nice to have a second opinion to the hairs on the back of my neck.

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The ones you got for free appear to be of poor quality. I've never seen one off that much.

I have to agree with James, there's a reason you got those for free...

The ones you got for free appear to be of poor quality. I've never seen one off that much.

I have to agree with James, there's a reason you got those for free...

Well my supplier that gave them to me deals in pool and spa products and they are always getting "sample" shipments of stuff like this that they won't sell and they either send them back or give them away if the maker won't take them back. I'm waiting for the day they get another shipment of cheap SLK's to "test market"

What I'd like to know from those of you that use a meter for reference is:

What brand and model?Measurement range?Accuracy (compared to local weather station data)Type of meter (vane, cup, hotwire)

1) Skywatch(tm) Explorer 22) 0 to 150 km/h (93mph)3) Claimed "precision" plus or minus 3% but I haven't got round to comparing this with another source (annoyingly I was once using it at an airfield but did not have my scanner to listen to the reported winds).4) Impeller

It needs to be pointed directly into wind and does not show well sudden large changes in windspeed ,due to a low update rate (twice a second) and possibly also,the time needed to speed-up or slow-down the impeller.

It is interesting to be able to put numbers to what you are experiencing but,as has already been said here,it can be of little if any practical use in most circumstances.

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